Exact Change
by Lex Vexon
Summary: When Rin left his apartment for a late night snack from the convenience store, he expected to come back with a bag of chips and some sports drinks, not a stomach full of butterflies and a crush on the cashier! Ai/Rin
1. Chapter 1

_I was originally gonna give this some really deep sounding summary. Something comparing the streetlights and sign and fluorescent bulbs to Ai's...eyes. But then I was thinking, this story is gonna be pretty silly, there's gonna be some goofy fucking shit in this story. So I decided to make the summary just something nice and cute and fun._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

_Is this a test?_

Rin, second-year college student and the new single owner of a 1LDK apartment, was starving. The constant goal of maintaining a fit body so that his swimming would never suffer was telling him to drink some water and get something healthy in the morning, but the empty feeling in his stomach was saying that the convenience store was hardly two blocks away and the walk there would make up for whatever he ate _anyway. _

_I should have never thought of Haru and Makoto's happiness…I wouldn't be living like this right now._

Rin immediately regretted the thought. Although living with Haru for his first year of college was nice and his cooking skills were pretty good, when talks of Makoto moving from his single apartment to live with Haru had started, Rin knew it would be best to give them space. When their first year had ended, Rin found an apartment closer to school, and Makoto and Haru had found something equidistant from their respective universities. It was for the best, still, Rin felt a bit lonely.

The growl in his stomach, however, made Rin feel more than a bit hungry.

Concluding that it was perfectly normal to get a late night snack, finally, Rin decided to go to the convenience store after all.

_I'll just get a sandwich._

The walk took less than five minutes, but looked different to Rin, as he'd only ever made the trek in the mornings. He'd always thought there was something different to a convenience store at night. Perhaps it was the lit-up sign, or the weird feeling of some kind of kinship with the others who'd found themselves at one so late at night, but Rin liked it more.

With the end of his train of thought came the brightly lit store sign with "Family Mart" in blue letters.

Although Rin liked the atmosphere of the store at nighttime, he didn't really feel like dawdling tonight. There was a swim practice in the morning and he wanted to be able to wake up a few hours early so he could give his body time to wake up. He moved swiftly through the store, grabbing a bag of chips and restocking his supply of energy drinks, he didn't really need to, but he figured that as long as he was out he might as well pick up some more.

The store was quieter than it was in the day, and although he'd only just noticed, he knew why. Rin preferred peace and quiet at times like this. During the day, when he'd usually go, the two cash registers were occupied by two seemingly best friends who were always chatting between customers. He thought that maybe it would be better if he came by at night, he could get a little walking in, pass some time, and he wouldn't have to deal with the chatty tellers. Yeah, he could do that. He'd have to think about it a bit more, make a final decision after he checked his school and practice schedule, but there was a good chance he could stop by at night instead.

The teller had been looking down the entire time, bangs covering his face as he refilled the cash register with change. Rin placed his items on the counter just as the teller closed the cash tray.

This guy seems pretty quiet…he's really…

"Ah! Good evening sir!" The teller lifted his head too look at Rin.

_CUTE! What the fuck? He's so cute…shit…_

"That'll be eight-hundred and thirty-seven yen, sir…Sir?"

Rin snapped out of his thoughts, locking eyes with the adorable cashier.

"How…How much, did you say?"

"Ah, um, eight-hundred and thirty-seven yen…"

"Yeah…" Rin laughed a bit nervously. This was not a familiar feeling. The teller laughed a bit as well and his face felt hot, his whole _body _felt like it was on fire.

_Just get through this, Rin. He's just very, very cute, and once you leave you'll totally forget. You just have to never ever come back to this store ever again at night so that you don't see him anymore. Fuck everything you thought before, coming here at night was a terrible idea. Just always come during the day, even if it's a bit inconveniencing._

_Yeah…that's…a good…_

"163 yen is your change…" the teller extended a handful of change to Rin, who held out his open palm, slightly shaking. As he dropped the coins into his hand and pulled back, the cashier's soft fingertips brushed Rin's hand, causing Rin to flinch and create a slightly awkward moment. Rin couldn't bring himself to look back up at the boy, if he had, he would have seen the prominent blush across his cheeks.

"Uh, thanks…"

Rin started to walk with haste towards the automatic doors.

"Ah, uh," the teller leaned over the counter a bit towards the almost gone Rin. "Have a good night!"

Rin stopped in his tracks for a second.

_Even his voice is cute…_

And without turning around, Rin did his best to get the words out.

"You…too!"

And then he was gone.

_Shit, shit, shit! Even when I can't see his face he's still cute with that stupid fucking cute adorable voice. I'll forget him by tomorrow. Just gotta, gotta eat this…and then sleep and when I wake up in the morning I won't even remember why I've decided to never go to the Family Mart at night again. I'll just believe that there was a really good reason that isn't that…totally not cute cashier. Yeah._

Rin started to run down the street.

* * *

Back at the Family Mart, Nitori Aiichirou was laying on the counter, hands covering his face.

_Aw man, he was really good looking. Such a good body…but it's not like anything could happen between us. I'm just some dopey cashier at the Family Mart._

_I've never seen him before though…I'll have to ask the people from the day shift if they know who he is…_

Ai sighed. It was only nine in the evening, and his shift didn't end until midnight. He resigned to lift himself from the counter and find something to do so he could get his mind off of the attractive customer. Deciding he'd reorganize the aisles during the downtime so that whomever was opening in the morning wouldn't have to, Ai walked around the counter and into the main of the store, stopping when he stepped on something a few feet from the doors.

_A wallet?_

He picked it up, opening it as he stood to check for an ID.

_His wallet?!_

* * *

**_I noticed that I made a pun earlier when proofing this. "Inconveniencing" and they're in a convenience store, lmao? And also thank god for automatic spellcheck because I cannot spell convenience._**

**_Family Mart is a real chain in Japan, kinda like a 7/11. You know how 7/11 sells doughnuts? Family Mart sells chocolate cookies with marshmallows in the middle. They're okay. If you live somewhere that doesn't have a 7/11, think of the convenience store you see the most. There you go._**

**_I wish we could have gotten more into Rin's personal thoughts not concerning swimming with the first season of the anime, it would have helped a lot. As far as I can tell, he's probably the type to try and stay away from intimate relationships because they'll distract him from swimming. Not asexual but just…awfully driven. However, I wanted him to kinda obsess over Ai's cuteness just because I don't think that there is anyone who can deny the adorableness of a person when they see them. Tough guy with a heart of gold and squishy love._**

**_Anyway, please review! I'm planning for this to be about 5 chapters, at least once a week or every two weeks. It would be nice if it ended in the spring where it takes place! If you all start demanding chapters, though, I might update with quicker pace. Happy reading!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**SEMI-IMPORTANT EDIT FOR FIRST CHAPTER: I was thinking about the way the first chapter established Rin living on his own and realized it would make much more sense for Haru and Rin to go to the same college for swimming, and that Makoto might have gone to a different college (perhaps to become a teacher, or a swimming coach?) so I flipped around Haru and Makoto's names. **

**_Thank you so much for all the favorites and follows and reviews and encouragement! I've never gotten such a positive response for any of my stories! It's really fantastic! Anyway, onto the story! It's gonna start picking up with this chapter!_**

* * *

_This is definitely a test._

Rin had just gotten to his apartment door when he'd realized that his pocket felt significantly lighter than usual. He'd been so focused on running from anymore embarrassment at the hands of the adorable cashier that he hadn't even noticed his wallet falling out.

_Guess I'll have to retrace my steps._

He was only two steps down the stairs when his phone started to ring. The number flashing on the screen was unfamiliar, but Rin thought he might as well answer, someone might have found his wallet.

"Hello?"

"Ah! Hello, is this, uh, R-Rin Matsuoka?"

_Oh my god…_

"Yeah…"

"Yes, good! This is Aiichirou Nitori, from the Family Mart. You, um, you dropped your wallet when you ran out of the store. I saw this number when I opened your wallet, so I thought I would call!"

Rin went blank.

_Even on the phone…he's cute…_

"Hello? Are you still there?"

Rin didn't realize how long he'd been quiet until, until _Aiichirou, _had snapped him out of it.

"Uh, yeah, I'm still here. I'll just go back to the store and come get it then."

"Oh, wait!"

Rin's foot hovered above the next step.

"If you don't mind waiting about two hours, I can drop it off on my way home…If that's okay with you, of course!"

"Uh…I mean, I wouldn't want you going out of your way…"

"It's not a big deal! It's actually on my way home!"

A sigh nearly escaped Rin's mouth, but he didn't want to seem like unappreciative of the favor _Aiichirou, what a name, _was offering.

"Uh, yeah, okay then. Just ring the bell when you get here."

There was no response, a few seconds of silence, then Rin could hear the teller's voice, muffled, " _So sorry, miss, I'll be there in a second!"_

"The bell, you said?" His voice sounded rushed.

"Yeah."

"Okay great, see in a couple hours!"

"See y-"

The sudden silence cut Rin off and alerted him to _Aiichirou, AIICHIROU, __**AIICHIROU, **_hanging up the phone. It was at that point he realized that he'd been standing at the top of the steps the whole time. Slipping his phone back into his pocket, Rin turned around to go back to his door.

_Jeez._

Rin opened his door and leaned his back against it closed, slowly descending to the floor.

_One second I'm actively avoiding the cutest person I've ever met, the next second, I'm wallet-less and waiting for him to come to my apartment._

He finally came to a full stop on the floor, legs stretching out over the half-step.

_Let's be real. You've only just met him. This is just infatuation, plus there's only half a chance he'll be interested in you anyway. No reason to stress…_

He needed some guidance, someone with experience, someone who'd also seemed to fall in love at first sight. Rin pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts, and found the name of the person he was seeking advice from.

"_Rin Rin!"_

"Hi, Nagisa."

* * *

Aiichirou had once again found himself leaning over the counter, just having served a young woman who was in quite a hurry.

"What's wrong, Ai?" came a female voice. His manager.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?"

"Maybe…but I've never really been in love."

"What about fate?"

"I don't really know that, either. Why?"

Ai used his arms to lift himself from the counter, and looked at his manager.

"There was a guy in here earlier. He was, admittedly, really handsome. He seemed really shy at the register, and when I was giving him his change, our hands touched and there was like…this…spark! You know?"

"Okay? What about the fate?"

"Oh, yeah, he dropped his wallet! Luckily he'd had his number written down inside for the person who found it to call him, and _I _found it. I'm gonna drop it off tonight! He lives so close by! Doesn't that seem like fate?"

"It seems like you've fallen for a stranger who can't keep very good track of his wallet. Besides, don't they call that kind of thing 'infatuation'? You just saw an attractive person and your hormones went all uppity."

"You're such a downer." Ai's body returned to the countertop. "This countertop is my only friend."

The manager sighed. "Ai, you don't have to listen to me. That's one way to think of it out of a million. This guy could be a creep, or he could be the love of your life, but you have to get to know him before you go rattling on about "love at first sight". You get me?"

"Yeah. If he lives close by, he'll surely come here again, right? I can just get to know him like I would anyone else…"

The chime of the entrance bell stopped the manager before she could speak again, alerting the two to the arrival of a new customer.

"Welcome!" Her voice carried the tone of an experienced store worker.

There was no response, however, not even a nod from the man. His head was hanging low, face unseen beneath the hood of his sweater. He didn't linger for too long, only grabbing a bottle of water to bring to the counter.

"Will that be all, sir?"

Ai failed to receive an answer as well, deciding not to try anything else, he rang up the bottle of water.

"120 yen…sir."

The customer quickly shoved the exact amount into Ai's hand, grabbed his water, and made a hasty exit, leaving Ai and his manager confused and a bit nervous.

"What a freaking creep…"

"Yeah…" Ai wiped his hand on his pants, something about the way the man's hand felt when he handed him the money just hadn't felt right, and the coins had felt damp with sweat.

"Well, we're not closing for another hour, but how about we start cleaning now and you can take off an hour early tonight. That way you can get that guy his wallet before midnight."

"Got it, I'll go get the supplies!" Ai half-jogged to the back of the store to get the cleaning supplies as the manager watched. Once he was out of sight, she picked up the lost wallet Ai had placed on the side of the register and opened it to the ID.

"Hm, not bad."

* * *

"Rin, I know you're not one for all the romancing and junk, but you gotta get to know this guy. You can't just avoid him and give up! What if he likes you back?"

"How am I supposed to get to know him? The first time I've ever saw him was the convenience store where he _works!_"

"How are you _not _supposed to get to know him?! He works there Rin, literally all you have to do is _go._"

"You and Rei made it look so easy. One second you were strangers, the next you're all over each other."

"That's because you didn't see everything that happened behind the scenes. It took a lot of time for me to get Rei to open up!"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Just look for an opportunity to have a conversation with him. If he doesn't return your feelings, big deal, and if he does, you can keep going! What's the worst that could happen?"

"I guess you're right."

"Obviously. I gotta go now, Rei and I have some business to attend to…"

"Business?"

"Yeah, we're gonna _get busy!"_

Rin could hear what sounded like an eternally embarrassed Rei shout "NAGISA!" and Nagisa's laughter before Nagisa yelled out a "Bye Rin Rin!" and hung up.

"I thought I told him to stop calling me that."

Rin got up from his place on the floor, rubbing his lower back, which was sore from sitting so long on the hard surface.

_I wonder if I have enough time for a shower…_

He checked his phone, seeing that he'd only been on the phone with Nagisa for an hour and decided that the hour before Aiichirou got to his apartment would be more than enough time. As he walked to the bathroom he started to strip, beginning with his shirt and then going for his pants, unzipping the fly. He was nearly to the door of the bathroom when he heard the ring of his doorbell.

_Shit!_

All thoughts of modesty left Rin's head and were soon replaced with anxiety about seeing Aiichirou again. He ran to the door, swinging it open with some force and his best, most calm sounding, "Hey."

Aiichirou was struck speechless for a moment. Rin's wallet his held out in his hands, but there was Rin, shirtless, unbuttoned…

"Am I interrupting something?" It was the first thing out of Aiichirou's mouth, _why did I say that?_

Rin was confused by the question, but in a moment his anxiousness changed from seeing Aiichirou to Aiichirou was right there and he was shirtless and _oh my fucking god. Damage control…_

"Oh, this? No, I was just about to take a shower…uh, you, you're early! Kinda threw me off!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I thought to call you…but it's such a short walk and I didn't expect to get off of work so early tonight and I was just so excited to see y- to…uh…I was so excited to give you your wallet back!"

Aiichirou pushed the wallet further towards Rin, the situation almost becoming painful for the two to even bear. Rin's hand extended with shaking anxiety to finally take his wallet back.

"Thanks."

"No problem, just…just doing my job!"

"See ya…"

"Yep! Bye!"

Rin closed his door, and Aiicihirou, feeling down that he hadn't found a reason for them to talk more, resolved that he'd maybe just die alone, nothing more than a teller at the Family Mart. He trudged down the steps and shuffled along the street that led to his neighborhood, weary from a long day and mentally exhausted from the metaphorically emotional rollercoaster he'd just been on.

_At least I got to see him shirtless…_

Aiichirou's thoughts, though, went no further than that, as the sound of another person walking behind him had raised his guard.

_I'm sure their just walking the same way I am._ But Aiichirou hadn't even hit the corner of Rin's street yet. Giving into his paranoia, Aiichirou pretended to receive a text that needed immediate answering and the comfort of a wall to lean on, waiting for the stranger to pass by.

But he didn't. Instead, he saw the stranger duck by a streetlamp, and something about their clothing made Aiichirou feel instantly uncomfortable.

_That's the creep from earlier! He was there an hour before I even left! Oh my god, this is it. Something is going to happen to me…_

He weighed his options. The store was closed for the night, his home was still a ten minute walk, and he'd always been warned not to lead a potential stalker to his own home. There was only one other option he could think of…_it's stupid, it's so stupid, but I have to try. _Feigning surprise at a new imaginary text on his phone, Aiichirou began to walk back towards Rin Matsuoka's apartment.

Five steps past the stranger and his paranoia was justified as he listened to his stalker once again trail behind him. He knew now that he had to go all the way to the apartment, to be safe. He picked up his pace, but not too much, scared that going too slow would invite the stalker to attack and going too fast would make it obvious that he'd noticed. Once he was at the apartment complex steps, he abandoned his cautious pace and raced up the steps, praying that Rin would let him in. He rang the bell impatiently, his body unable to stay still underneath the weight of his situation.

"Yeah, yeah, I'LL BE THERE IN A SECOND." Aiichirou let go of the bell, a bit nervous now that he'd obviously pissed Rin off.

The door swung open, and Rin looked pissed, and he sounded pissed as he spat out a "_What?_"

"I-I'm so sorry for disturbing you again, but I need help!"

Rin immediately softened, embarrassed that he'd gotten so angry, but he tucked the embarrassment away, opting to just apologize.

"Sorry, what do you need help with? Are you hurt?"

"No, it's just…I think I'm being stalked."

"A stalker?" Rin wanted to ask how he knew, but Aiichirou seemed nervous to be outside and he already felt bad enough about yelling. Aiichirou just nodded.

"Come inside."

Rin closed the door behind them, taking a second to peek out and check the surroundings. Aiichirou wasn't lying, as he turned his head he saw someone hide near a lamppost. Suspicious of the stalker's intentions, Rin locked the deadbolt as well as his normal lock on the door.

Aiichirou was awkwardly standing in the front hallway, head turned down to the floor.

"Sorry, again, for yelling…"

"It's…it's okay. Sorry if I interrupted something this time."

"No, nothing, uh…" Rin didn't know what to do. His whole night had been turned around in only two hours. He'd seen the cute store clerk, lost his wallet, talked to the cute store clerk on the phone (found out his name, _Aii-chi-rou_), accidentally opened his door to the clerk shirtless, regained his wallet, and now, he'd invited him into his apartment. The silence was deathly, this was not a situation he was used to.

Aiichirou felt the same, but he felt like he had to do something. In the heat of the moment, he extended his hand.

"Uhm, we haven't really…introduced ourselves properly…and since I'm in your apartment and all that…"

Aiichirou was cut off when Rin took two huge steps forward to get closer to him and grabbed his hand, something he hadn't quite expected.

"I'm Rin Matsuoka. Just Rin is fine."

"Oh! I'm Aiichirou Nitori. Most people call me Ai…"

"Ai…" Rin hadn't meant to say the name, but it slipped off his tongue so easily, _Ai._

Happy in the cleared, now more comfortable air, Rin lead Ai to sit in his living room, curious to find out what he could about Ai's supposed stalker. Once he'd set some water for them both, they got to talking.

"He came into the store about an hour before I left. He didn't really say anything and was looking down the whole time. My manager and I thought he was a creep but there really wasn't any sign that he was gonna do anything to me."

"How'd you realize he was stalking you?"

Ai stopped to sip some water before talking again, "Mm, I was walking home and felt like someone was following me, so I stopped and waited for them to pass, but instead he ducked behind something and waited. That's why I started heading the other way, to see if he'd still follow me."

"And he did…"

"So I decided to come here, you were the closest person I could think of."

"How do you know that I'm not a creep?"

"You may be a little…yell-y…but you've been nice enough besides that."

Rin made a gruff noise, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, and stood up.

"Well, you can stay as long as you need to, I don't have any classes in the morning," he said, stretching his back out.

"Thanks," Ai said, standing as well, "but if it's okay, I was wondering if you could just walk me home. That guy probably won't approach me if you're there."

Rin didn't know how to answer, but every single voice in Rin's head was screaming at him, and they were all Nagisa.

_Take the opportunity! TAKE THE OPPURTUNITY!_

"Actually, I've heard that if someone is stalking you, you shouldn't lead them to your home…"

"Oh yeah, that's actually smart…so what should I do?"

_Take it, for the love of god, Rin._

"Why don't you just…stay the night? Who knows how long that guy is gonna be around, and you're probably really tired…" Rin trailed off, unsure of how else to convince Ai that he'd be safer at the apartment.

He didn't really need to. Ai had immediately agreed to the proposition, excusing himself for a moment to make a call to his home. Rin dropped back to the floor, relief washing over him, _I can't believe I just did that. _

"Sorry," Ai said, walking back into the room and sitting down again, "My mom was asking me a million questions."

"You still live with your parents?" Rin hoped that it hadn't come out in a mean way, his way of talking often lead him to being accidentally rude. However, Ai didn't seem bothered by it.

"Yeah, I graduated from high school last year, and I did plan to go to college…but my family ran into some…complications that put us in tight spot. I decided to start working so I could help with family expenses, but that also meant giving up on college…"

_Family complications? _He wanted to pry a bit, but something about Ai's expression made him reluctant to do so. Instead, he moved on, trying to find something to say that would keep the conversation light.

"We're a year apart then! I'm in my second-year of college right now. I go to the university nearby."

"Isn't that university known for its sports programs?"

"Yeah, I'm actually on the swim team."

"For real? I was on my high school's swim team! I had such a good time…"

Rin felt elated by their shared interest, and by the fact that he was able to seemingly cheer up Ai. At Ai's request, Rin relayed his reasons for being so dedicated to the sport, his style of swimming, and his many stories from past tournaments. They continued to talk late into the night, only stopping once the many yawns shared between the two had made it apparent that it was time to sleep.

"You can…you can sleep in my bed, Ai," Rin gestured to the hall with his room in it, some of his words being swallowed up by more yawns.

"Are you sure? I mean I-"

Rin cut Ai off with a push towards the hallway and a shush, not one for formalities so late into the night. He guided AI into his room, retrieving the futon he'd stowed in the closet. It hadn't been his idea to buy one, so in his mind he thanked Makoto and his sister for convincing him to get one just in case.

_Just in case a cute guy I just met ends up sleeping in my bed because of a stalker…_

The futon laid to the floor, Rin watched as Ai collapsed onto his bed, and, turning of the lights, followed suit to the futon. It was quiet, and nothing more than a dim orange glow from the streetlamps illuminated the room. Some rustling sheets broke the silence before Ai did, too.

"Rin…"

Rin made another gruff noise.

"…Thanks."

Rin was glad that it was dark, because his eyes had shot open at the word. Playing off his surprise, Rin replied,

"…It's not a big deal."

Ai smiled, sure the night had been a little rough, but at this moment he was pretty happy. In the stillness of the dark, with confirmation that Rin had fallen asleep as evidenced by his even breaths, Ai made a vow to be confident. He vowed to continue his newfound friendship, even if it didn't go as far as he might want.

Ai fell asleep smiling.

* * *

It was two in the morning, at least, that's what Rin could make out on his digital clock, bleary eyed and still dead-tired, he could vaguely recall absolutely nothing of his night, his mind only focused on the fact that he needed to piss.

The streetlamps were out, and the room pitch black, he groped his way to the bathroom, not even turning that light on in fear of burning his corneas, and too lazy to stand and pee, sat down on the toilet. He wondered why he'd been sleeping on the floor when he woke up, but chalked it up to falling off the bed.

A few minutes later he was back to feeling his way around in his own room, finally making it to the bed, where he found that his blanket was gone. Feeling his falling theory proven, he grabbed the pillow and blanket from the floor, covering himself up and easily getting back to sleep.

* * *

Spring mornings were typically cold, but Ai found himself much warmer than usual, he remembered the night's events, wondering if Rin kept his apartment warmer, or if he should just ask about what type of blanket it was, but then he realized that neither of those thoughts were even remotely close to what he'd found in his reality.

Rin, the very same who'd let him stay the night, was facing Ai head on, one arm resting loosely on Ai's waist and their legs pushed close to each other. Ai felt instantly sensitive to touch, wanting to move away as quickly as possible, but the wall was right on his back. He was trapped.

In a cruel twist of fate, Ai's decision to not do anything that would wake Rin up was voided as Rin's eyes blinked him awake.

Rin's reaction was a bit more…colorful than Ai's. First, he only saw Ai, then his brain processed their proximity, and his eyes shot wide awake. His body flailed a bit, causing him to fall to the floor in a mess of confusion and embarrassment.

"Are you okay?" Ai sat up on the bad, getting off to help.

"Yeah, yeah, I-I am so sorry. I got up to go to the bathroom at night and…I must have forgotten you were there…"

Ai laughed, but his whole inside self was screaming, and there was no way he could hide his blush this time. He was desperately hoping that perhaps Rin wouldn't notice his unusual redness.

"It's okay! It happens to everyone?"

_But does it? _Doubt aside, Rin just accepted the statement, wanting to just move on from the event.

"Are you hungry?"

Ai nodded furiously, and Rin quickly went to his kitchen to fix something small for the two. While Rin was gone, Ai hastily got dressed.

_Something about this situation makes it feel like I did more than just sleep over…_

But Ai dashed the thought, making his way to the living room and sitting down at the small coffee table by the television. The weather was on, so Ai decided to focus on that, even when Rin placed a plate of toast and a glass of juice next to him. The two at in silence, neither wanting to bring up what had just occurred or even just break the silence.

So the news did it for them.

A dozen dull satellite images and forecasts were interrupted by breaking news reports. Rin and Ai listened intently to the story play out.

"What would have been a peaceful day was interrupted earlier this morning when the home of local resident Miho Amakata was broken into. Miss Amakata had reportedly been walking home from a late night when she noticed someone seemed to be following her, but, too close to home, she decided to move on and saw no sign of the stalker once inside. However, the stalker was still there and broke into the home around seven am this morning. Lucky for Miss Amakata, a watchful jogger called the authorities when they caught sight of the man picking the lock to her door. Police were on the scene in minutes and the man was subdued before he could harm her. Local residents are requested to give any information they might have about this man, currently in police custody."

Rin and Ai made audible gaps as an image of the man appeared on the screen.

"That's the guy who stalked me last night! Thank god you convinced me to stay here, who knows what would have happened!"

Ai stood up, "I should probably head home now, then go to the station and tell them about my experience last night."

"Yeah," Rin stood as well, but didn't really know why or what to do.

"Thank you again, Rin, it was awfully kind of you to let me stay the night."

Rin just nodded.

"Ugh, I want to thank you in a better way," Ai continued.

"You don't have to, just the word is enough," Rin said, _that sounded ridiculous._

"No really…why don't you come by the store tonight while I'm working, and you can get whatever you like, all discounted by my employee discount."

"Uh, yeah, okay…that sounds…that sounds great."

"Great!" Ai was already putting his shoes on by the door, "Thank you again," the door was opened, and with a "See you later!" it was shut.

Rin shuffled back to his living room, switching the TV from the news to a random talk show on a different channel. Pushing his breakfast out of the way, he let his head come to a rest on the table.

_If this was a test…_

_…did I pass?_

* * *

Aight so, first thing, I'M SORRY! It took way longer than I intended to publish this chapter, but I tried to make it longer this time around and finish off this first day, cause I didn't want to have 3 chapters for one night.

The bed thing was the idea that kinda shaped this whole debacle. I don't think I really write stories, I just come up with a lot of situations and do my best to shove them all into the same context. The whole "don't lead a stalker to your home" thing is something I was taught a lot, it seems to be common sense, but Ai is a bit of a dummy sometimes.

Also, I'm happy I established their names to each other, I've always felt it was really unnatural feeling when a character's nickname or first name is used while narrating the POV of a different character that doesn't know that name/hasn't been formally introduced. It was also really tiring to write "Aiichirou" over and over again.

review and shit. and look up the Family Mart uniform if you haven't already. Draw Ai in the uniform. I did, it's fucking adorable.


	3. Chapter 3

***bows very low to the ground* Oh my god, I'm so sorry. This took way longer than it should have, and I think this chapter is a little short, but hopefully the event that happens in this chapter will be enough for now! I want to write chapter four quickly and get it out to you guys sooner than the last two were!**

* * *

It had been two weeks since Rin and Ai's first meeting. That night, Rin had decided to take up Ai's offer to give him an employee discount as a thank you, causing him to buy more than he'd planned in an effort to take full advantage of it. Ai had apparently gone to the police station that day to act as a witness, but ultimately the police decided he wouldn't be necessary after making a statement.

Rin had been going to the convenience store every night he could since, only missing a few days when he'd gone for dinner with his friends, or if he'd had a lot of schoolwork to do. By now he'd memorized Ai's schedule completely by chance, Saturday to Wednesday, with Thursday and Friday being his weekend. He'd stop by, and if he didn't have to wake up early, he'd stay to keep Ai company and talk, remembering hearing Ai once complain about working nights being extremely boring on account of slow business.

It was a Friday night, he was out to dinner, although, it felt more like a double date.

Haruka and Makoto, Rei and Nagisa. They were his friends, but he could feel the slight sting of the fifth wheel pressing his mind. However, the conversation was about to be generously weighted towards him.

"So, Rin, any luck with that shop clerk?" Nagisa asked, leaning on the table towards Rin.

"Shop clerk?" Makoto questioned, saying out loud the question everyone else had kept in their heads.

"Nagisa! Why did you bring that up?" Rin tried to hide his embarrassment with anger towards Nagisa, but it was obvious now that this topic wasn't going to drop very easily.

"C'mon, Rin, if you can trust me, you can definitely trust everyone else here!"

Rin dropped his head to the table, groaning audibly and hoping that Rei or Makoto would convince Nagisa to let it go for now.

No such luck.

Makoto was _uncharacteristically interested._

Nagisa turned to the rest of the group, "Rin has a crush!"

"A crush? Rin?!" Rei asked, leaning with Nagisa. Makoto and even Haru took the opportunity to get closer to Rin, suddenly especially interested in Rin's love life.

"He's just...he's just a teller at the Family Mart near my apartment."

"What about when he gave you your wallet back, did you invite him into the apartment to talk?!"

"No…but…"

"But?"

"But, he came back because someone was…following him."

"A stalker?" Makoto gasped, "What happened?"

"He was being followed, he came to my place to wait for the guy to leave, it got late, and he stayed the night…"

"_STAYED THE NIGHT._"

"No-nothing happened, Nagisa!"

"That's not the face of 'nothing happened', that's a 'something happened' face."

"How would you even know the difference?!"

No one answered, all eyes of the table focused on him.

"So," Rei started, "Did something happen?"

"I…" Rin didn't want to tell this story, it was embarrassing, and he really didn't want to look like even more of an idiot than he already did.

He did it anyway.

"You guys cannot laugh."

Heads shook to say "No, of course we won't laugh." Rin wasn't convinced, but he'd already revealed so much that he felt like he had nothing to lose.

"I…I accidentally got into the bed with him in the middle of the night…kinda…forgot he was there."

Rin looked up, ready to hear the hysterical laughing, ready to sit through at least five minutes of relentless teasing from Nagisa…

…not ready for bright eyes and gaped mouths.

"How did he react?!"

"Did he push you away?!"

"What position did you wake up in?"

"Was he blushing?!"

The questions were not teasing, more encouraging, curious, and Rin tried to answer them to the best of his ability. He reacted fine, nothing over the top; no, I fell off the bed (they laughed there); I had my arm on his waist…; well, he was very red.

The questions continued late into the meal, answers coming between bites of food, the conversation turning to tips for Rin to sweep the clerk, they now knew as Ai, off his feet. _Buy a snack for him, shake his hand really firmly after making a purchase, be extra grateful after purchasing something, buy those huge condoms for guys with monster dongs._ It was all terrible advice, but Rin had to appreciate their misguided attempts to help. Once he mentioned that the stalker was caught bothering someone else, and how he'd been going to the shop periodically since then, the group calmed a bit, but Rin no longer felt so embarrassed by the ordeal. They'd all wished him luck, and finally gave real advice, and Rin realized that they were probably some of the best people to talk about it with. After all, with all of them in relationships, they probably knew something he didn't. When they finally parted ways that night, the group made sure to wish Rin luck in his endeavors.

It was already late, and Rin had to sprint to get to the station to catch the last train of the night, relieved that he'd bought his ticket back ahead of time. The car that he'd gotten into was mostly empty, save for…

"Ai?"

The boy looked up, he was sitting right by the doors of the car, reading a thick novel.

"Oh! Rin, hi!"

Rin planted his body next to Ai, placing his bag on the free seat next to him, "What are you doing taking such a late train?"

"Ah, uhm…" Ai was hesitant, "I'm coming from the hospital…" His voice was low.

"The hospital?! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! It's, uh, I was visiting my father…"

"Oh…I'm sorry…I mean…" Rin didn't know whether or not to express that he knew exactly how Ai felt. Losing his father had been the worst experience he'd ever had, and it couldn't have been easier for Ai to have to see his father in a hospital bed.

"I know how you feel."

"You do?"

Rin never expected to have this kind of conversation on a train. When they passed a station with nobody waiting, he noticed that it had started to rain. Good thing I have my umbrella.

He looked back to Ai, still curious to how Rin understood his feelings. Rin took a deep breath.

"My father died in a boat accident when I was a kid."

"Oh my god, Rin, I'm so sorry…"

"Thanks, I mean, it was really terrible for me at the time, and I've moved past the mourning period, but I can understand what you're feeling."

"Thanks, Rin, it means a lot. I haven't really had…anyone to talk to about this."

"None of your other friends would listen?"

"No, well…I didn't have a lot of friends in high school, maybe one or two people I was close to. I was planning to move away for college, thought I would make more friends there, but…my dad collapsed a month before graduation."

"Is that why you're working?"

"Yeah. Even though we've never been poor…I could tell that my mom was struggling with the situation. She stopped working after I was born, to take care of me, and so my dad made the money in the house. I couldn't make my mom work to pay for the hospital bills and college tuition. So, I gave up going to college and started working instead. This way, I'm able to pay for whatever I need, so that my mom can focus on more important expenses."

Rin was amazed, Ai was possibly the most selfless person he'd ever met. The entire time he was talking, a small smile was on his face, as if giving up college to work while his dad was in the hospital was no big thing.

"Well, you know, if there you ever need anyone to talk to…about anything, you know, you can talk to me."

"Thanks, Rin, that means a lot to me. It's nice…I feel really comfortable around you."

Rin was still turned towards Ai, who had a light blush on his cheeks.

"I fell the same way. You're easy to talk to, Ai."

Ai laughed a bit, looking at Rin, "That's good! I'm really glad that we-"

A sudden slow down, a blackout, and the train stopped completely. A flash of lightning lit up the car, Ai's face was extremely close to Rin's.

"…met."

The sound of the rain was deafening to Rin, and Ai was still so close. He didn't know what to do at all, his heart was racing, and his mind couldn't come up with anything to say.

Then he felt a soft pair of lips on his own, and the lights turned on. It was Ai, of course, who was kissing him, and he was so surprised that he didn't even think to kiss back, no matter how much he wanted it. After another second, Ai seemed to realize what he was doing, and pulled back quickly.

_"Our apologies passengers, there's been a blackout in the surrounding areas, in the interest of safety, the train will not run until all the stations have regained power. Any inconvenience is regretted."_

Ai jumped from his seat and began to apologize profusely.

"I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have done that…I mean, I should've told you how I felt before kissing you, but I just-ah!"

The train lurched forward suddenly, and Ai lost his balance, falling into Rin's lap.

"I'm sorry!" He began to lift himself up from Rin before he felt an arm wrap around him and keep him there.

"How…how do you feel about me, Ai?"

Ai was blushing to his ears, he couldn't bear to look Rin in the face, completely mortified by the entire situation.

"Ai?"

"I…I like you, Rin. I really, really like you."

He must hate me now.

However, much to Ai's surprise, Rin felt quite the opposite.

"I really like you, too, Ai."

Ai's head snapped upwards, nearly hitting Rin in the process. "Really?!"

"Yes!" Rin was smiling so wide it was starting to hurt his cheeks a bit, but he couldn't stop, and Ai started laughing in relief. Rin let him get off from on top of him and sit back in his own seat.

"So…does this mean we're dating now?" Ai asked, voice carrying his happiness through.

"Yeah, yes, absolutely, we are…we're dating now." Rin was desperately attempting to keep his cool, unable to look Ai in the face because of his blush.

"So…can we hold hands?"

Rin simply nodded, letting Ai take the lead and take his hand, alone on the train, Rin felt comfortable intertwining their fingers, and let a small smile play upon his face. The two were silent, just content being together. It wasn't until they arrived at the station that Ai realized that he didn't have an umbrella to use.

"We can walk together, under mine, your house is on the way anyway."

"Thanks, Rin."

Their station came up, and, not seeing anyone around, the two kept their hands clasped. Rin and Ai walked together in silence only broken by the sound of rain, which had by now let up, but it was comforting. With the loss of shelter from the station roof, Rin opened the umbrella. It was a lot smaller than he remembered, and the new couple had to squeeze close to each other, but neither minded.

Ai's house was not too far from the station, which left Rin slightly disappointed, but with all that had already happened, it wasn't like he could complain. Ai hesitated at his front gate. However awkward it as to be squished beneath an umbrella while rain was pouring down, he didn't feel like going inside just yet.

"Thanks for walking me home…"

"Yeah, no problem, uhm…do you wanna go out…like to eat or something?" Rin finally empathized with the girls who asked him out in high school, even when he knew the feeling was mutual, it was still pretty difficult to spit out the words.

"Like a date?"

"Yeah, a date…cause, you know, we're dating…"

"Wow, yeah, we are…Well, I would love to go on a date with you, Rin."

"That's….that's great." How long was I holding that breath in?

"How about I text you? We can plan around our schedules."

"Cool, well, uh, I guess I'll see you…later?"

Ai smiled, "Yeah, uhm…"

He looked around the area, checking for anyone else outside, and then leaned up to kiss Rin again. This time, Rin was ready, and he returned the action, free hand coming up to gently cradle Ai's head. They separated after a few seconds, Rin taking a mental picture of Ai's face as he pulled away.

"I'll text you in the morning, then?" Rin said, confirming their plans.

"Cool…see ya, then," Ai said, finally stepping away from the umbrella and quickly getting to the awning above his door. He grabbed the door knob, and opening the door turned to Rin and waved, smiling. Rin waved back, letting his lips turn upward into a smile as well. Once Ai had closed the door, Rin began to walk home, not even that bothered when he accidentally stepped into a puddle and completely soaked his shoes.

* * *

Ai had practically skipped into the kitchen, where his mother was washing dishes. Always in tune with her son's emotions, she couldn't help but inquire about his cheerful disposition.

"You certainly look happy! Did your visit with your father go that well?"

"Oh! Yeah, it went as well as it usually does."

"Well you're certainly not this cheerful when you come back from a visit."

"I ran into a friend on the train, we had a…a good talk."

Ai's mother raised her eyebrow at him but said nothing more. She hadn't heard much talk of friends from him in a long time, and questioning it probably wouldn't be the nicest thing to do. With the last dish put on the drying rack, she wiped her hands and turned to her son.

"There are still some leftover's from yesterday's dinner. If the rice is dry, heat it up again with some extra water, and clean up when you're done, okay?" She was walking away the entire time, her voice slowly growing into a holler as she got further and further away from Ai.

"Okay mom!" Ai yelled back.

Ai found the leftovers, extra spicy curry and rice, nestled between a nearly empty carton of orange juice and carton of eggs that he knew only had one egg left in it. We definitely need some groceries, I guess I'll go get some tomorrow.

Once he'd eaten, he realized how exhausted he was. He got ready for bed slowly, too lost in his thoughts to do anything with haste at the moment, then curled up underneath the covers on his bed. He felt happy, and excited. He thought he must be the happiest he's been since his father's hospitalization.

He felt warm.

And it definitely wasn't the curry.

* * *

**Was it cute? I tried to make it cute. I think there's something really...interesting? about the atmosphere of being in a train while it's raining. Maybe have rainy mood on while you're reading this chapter...**

**R & R, yanno, whatever you wanna do**


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